Not Too Big To Sink

MS Costa Concordia was the largest Italian passenger ship ever built. Only six years old and built at a cost of 450 million Euro, this Italian cruise ship was rather extraordinary. Nearly 300 metres long, with a layout consisting of 13 decks, with 1500 cabins (550 with private balconies), 4 swimming pools (2 with retractable covers), 5 jacuzzis, 5 spas, a pool-side movie screen on the pool deck, 5 restaurants, 13 bars (including a cigar and cognac bar) and the world’s largest exercise facility at sea, boasting a 6000 sq metre fitness centre, a gym, a thalassotherapy pool (whatever that is) and a turkish bath. 

The name ‘Concordia’ was supposed to express the wish for continuing harmony, unity and peace between European nations. However the ship began life with a less than perfect launch, when at Senstri Ponente on 2^nd September 2005, the champagne bottle failed to break.

In a time when financial markets around the world, especially in Europe and the USA, are obsessed with the maxim ‘too big to fail’, MS Costa Concordia has proven again that no ship is too big to sink. Strangely, the picture of a luxury liner sailing irresponsibly close to the rocks, only to crash into them ripping a huge hole in the hull, bears a nervous parallel to a European Economic Union, which also seems to be in very shallow water. In spite of the tragic loss of life, in many ways it remains a marvel that over 4000 passengers and crew were rescued. We can only hope that when the single currency Euro and EU inevitably lists and then rapidly takes on water, that the economic tragedy is also limited. As in the past we can pretty much guarantee that when the finance ships sink, the captains of banking will take the only life boats and it’s pretty unlikely any of them will ever see the inside of a court room or an Italian gaol. We can only hope that governments will be quick on the scene, will attempt to quell panic, will encourage an orderly abandonment of ship and will feed, house and clothe the survivors.

‘It won’t happen’, you say! ‘It can’t happen’, you say! ‘We know what we are doing’, you say! ‘Yes, we are in shallow water, but our technology won’t let it happen’, you say! 

Well, tell that to the passengers of the Costa Concordia - at least the lucky ones who are still alive.

How the mighty have fallen in battle!  2Samuel 1: 25 

Eternal Bling

A new fashion statement seems to be creeping into popular culture. At this stage it seems only the preserve of the rich and dodgy, but I fear it may only be a matter of time before it is embraced much more widely. Last week Neal Todorovski, a member of the Lone Wolf Bikers, was buried in Cabramatta after being murdered in cold blood at Sans Souci in southern Sydney on 4^th January. Todorovski’s biker mates passed the hat around, so to speak, and chipped in a total of $42,000 to pay for the ultimate in eternal bling - a gold plated coffin.

The casket was the same model as those used to bury Melbourne underworld figure Carl Williams and pop icon Michael Jackson. The statement was emphatic. The gods of gold have long been popular in life, so it was only a matter of time before they were enlisted for transport in death. Coffin bling may become the ultimate flashy, ostentatious, elaborate accessory that all the hip people will need. It is also the most stupid and aimless waste of money, as the beneficiary hardly gets to enjoy either the luster of the gold or the impression it is supposed to have on his friends. 

Death, though ever present, is in many ways an area that contemporary culture does not really know what to do with. After abandoning God as a culture, the obvious conclusion is to mourn the loss of life and to grieve the fact that death without God is the end of existence. What we do instead is to turn funerals into ‘celebrations of life’ – which though palatable is ultimately just another form of denial. Increasingly funerals in Australia are taken by civil celebrants, something that is quite correct, as it does reflect people’s lack of belief. But these celebrants are left with little to say, except to ignore death and celebrate life. Without a God to seek in prayer, without God’s Word to read, and without the hope of resurrection, there really is not a lot to say.

The Bible encourages us to face the bleakness and loss that is death with real hope. No amount of metallic luster can ever mask the ugliness and loss that death delivers. But to believe that Jesus died to take the punishment that our sins deserved and then rose to defeat death, gives hope to all who trust in Him. No amount of money, no show of wealth, no boast of power has any gravitas in the face of death.

The One who died and rose again remains our richest hope.

“We believe that Jesus died and rose again and so we believe that God will bring with Jesus those who have fallen asleep in him.”  1Thessalonians 4: 14

Mind The Gap

A very strange event occurs this weekend in Sydney. In fact it will occur this weekend and will be repeated next weekend and if necessary the weekend after that as well. For the first time in its almost 80 year history, the Sydney Harbour Bridge will be closed for up to three weekends in January for major maintenance on the road surface. While the Bridge has been closed before for sporting events and even the odd picnic, closing for maintenance for three weekends is unique. Of course there are alternative crossings of the Harbour, namely the Harbour Tunnel and the Anzac Bridge, but Sydney-siders will no doubt experience quite a few traffic dramas over the next few weekends.

Somehow 80 years ago Sydney did survive without a bridge. In my childhood my late grandfather used to entertain me with stories about travelling to and from the city each day, when the daily commute included lengthy delays for the ferry/punt that used to cross from North Sydney. He himself was rarely troubled by the queue, as he drove a large motorbike and simply glided through the cars to await the arriving boat.

The image of a bridge has been a popular one in trying to explain and defend the Christian faith. The idea that there is a gulf between humans, who are far from holy, and God who is Holy, is not an idea unique to Christianity. Indeed most, if not all religion, deals with ways of overcoming this moral gap between God and humanity. Even Aussie religious cynics acknowledge their unworthiness before God, when they joke that if they entered a church there may be some type of divine reaction that may include the roof collapsing. The standard religious solution common to most world religions is that the gap between a Holy God and a less than perfect humanity can be addressed by some form of religion inspired improvement to make a person worthy. Christianity is unusual in that it affirms the gulf between humans and God can never be overcome by human improvement, religious practice, or even inner reflection. The gap is simply too large and even the best human effort leaves us a long way short. The only solution is something, or rather someone, who can straddle the gap between a Holy God and a sinful humanity.

Jesus carries a number of formal and religious titles including Messiah, Saviour and Redeemer, which some have simplified and popularised quite simply as a Bridge. (http://www.navigators.org/us/resources/illustrations/items/bridge)

This Bridge is toll free, open to all, is not closing for maintenance and provides the only effective path for humans to be restored to God.

"... we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ."  Romans 5: 1

When Arrogance Leaves You Looking Silly

Confidence is a wonderful thing, but sometimes when it slips over into arrogance we can be left looking rather silly. In recent years science has made huge advances in the understanding and prediction of weather and an understanding of the factors that seem to be impacting our changing climate. In 2011 the Australian Government made what many consider to be a wise and sensible decision to introduce a carbon tax, because the most well respected climate scientists are convinced that increasing carbon pollution is causing an increase in global temperatures. The carbon tax law was passed in November 2011. Long before it will be enacted the environment (at least in my part of Australia) seems to have reacted with fright, delivering us the coolest December temperatures in over 50 years. Of course there is no connection, but it is amusing that whenever we humans are convinced we know it all, we soon discover we have a lot more to learn.

After a long period of drought back in 2006, the water storage levels in the huge Sydney catchment were at record lows, approaching 30% of capacity. The State Government, faced with predictions of global warming and more drought, announced they would build Australia’s largest desalination plant, at a cost of about $2 billion. It seemed as though the day after the minister made the announcement that it started to rain, so now in 2012 we have a desalination plant producing a huge amount of fresh water that we don’t really need, because the dams are now over 80% full. Hindsight is a great thing but humility can help us overcome a great deal of pain.

Though never officially advertised as such, the Titanic’s popular reputation as the unsinkable ship did little to help the poor people who lost their lives, due not only to the ship sinking but also to the lack of provision of lifeboats. The 19^th century dream of overcoming the tyranny of distance by land, sea and even sky were all realized with the development of trains and cars, diesel powered ships and eventually modern aviation. But then the 20^th century also saw these incredible advances used to bring the greatest human losses ever inflicted, with over 50 million deaths in WW2, aided in considerable part by man’s mastery of land, sea and air.

In the Bible there is an ancient story about a group of guys determined to build the biggest skyscraper of their day in Babel and they called it a tower. Their desire was to reach the heavens and make a name for themselves, but all they achieved was confusion. We humans are always reaching for the sky, or trying to pass through the sky, or even trying to control the sky. Ambition with humility is all about realizing our God-given potential. Arrogance without reference to God at best leaves us with laughter and not infrequently with tears.

When pride comes, then comes disgrace, but with humility comes wisdom.  Proverbs 11: 2

Christmas Giveaway

Retailers and the religious both love Christmas, but for humble shop workers and church ministers and staff, Christmas is also a lot of work. Having had 25 Christmases as a church pastor and at least half a dozen before that in retail, I don’t always begin this season with complete relish. Having said that, sometimes the commercial, formulaic and folksy way we celebrate Christmas is shaken by an event or a person that seems to let the light of Christ shine through.

Back in 1988 a major supplier of commercial Christmas cakes realized that their sales were low and they faced a huge stockpile of unsold cakes. The company, Big Sister, donated many thousands of cakes to the Anglican Church in Sydney, who realized that they could not move them all in a short space of time, so they offloaded them to various other denominations. The Presbyterian Church received a couple of thousand and passed 300 on to me, as the pastor of a tiny little church in the south west of Sydney. That’s where one of my most wonderful Christmas adventures began.

Basically we went door to door in the public housing estate of Bonnyrigg with the following message: “Hi, we are from Parklands Presbyterian Community Church and we would like to wish you Merry Christmas and give you a free Christmas cake”. Then the fun really began! “What’s the catch?”; “Is this a scam?”; “What’s the deal?”; “Why are you doing this?”: were the constant responses. Eventually, with a lot of persuasion we convinced people that there was no catch – it was just a free gift. After a while of doing this we began to have a crowd of local kids as our escort. “Can I have one for my Aunt Mary?” People were dubious but eventually thankful for a very unexpected Christmas gift. Like any parent of young children on Christmas morning, there is something special about watching as a gift is received with joy and excitement.

For God too His delight is in our response to His gift. God in His mercy gave us much more than cake. He gave us the opportunity of peace with Him, though our sins had made us His enemy. He gave us the opportunity of light, when our actions have often revelled in darkness. He gave us the opportunity of grace, when we are so fixated with merit. He did that all in the form of His greatest gift to humanity in the Baby of Bethlehem, full of grace, light and peace.

There were sheepherders camping in the neighborhood. They had set night watches over their sheep. Suddenly, God's angel stood among them and God's glory blazed around them. They were terrified. The angel said, "Don't be afraid. I'm here to announce a great and joyful event that is meant for everybody, worldwide: A Savior has just been born in David's town, a Savior who is Messiah and Master. This is what you're to look for: a baby wrapped in a blanket and lying in a manger." Luke 2: 10,11 (The Message)

Thinking The Worst

Bad news does sell more newspapers than good news. Not surprisingly then, journalists are by nature cynical and criticism is their first response. When a Prime Minister reshuffles her ministry and cabinet (a strange description for sacking, demoting, shifting sideways and promoting), our journalists always assume her motives are sinister. The Daily Telegraph declared the changes as “Gillard’s Revenge” and an online magazine decried, “Will it save her in the polls?”. Others described it as an attempt to shore up support against a possible future challenge from Mr. Rudd, or simply an attempt to secure more factional support. No doubt such conclusions are partly true, but maybe there is another side to the story. Shareholders tend to trust CEOs when they restructure and the sporting public loves it when an old warhorse is flicked for a rising star. Occasionally we might all benefit if we realised that mixed motives are not the preserve of politicians alone.

When we only think the worst about the people with whom we are in relationship, then relationships tend to be very difficult. When a wife assumes her husband’s best intentions are actually self serving (which they probably are, at least in part), then no matter what he does she will never be satisfied. Parents often have every reason to question motives and intentions of their teenagers, but when trust breaks down altogether no amount of goodwill can bring reconciliation. What is really dangerous in relationships is when one party takes on the role of judge, not only of the actions of the other, but also of the intentions behind those actions. At that point breakdown is hard to avoid.

The media often takes this moral high ground in our culture. They question every politician’s actions and the motives behind those actions. We thus increasingly do not trust our leaders and somehow the whole system leads to despair and disrespect.

By contrast, when a respected media organization sets out to break the world record for the longest radio or TV interview (in this instance lasting 24 hours), we are presented with a novel, quirky and playful idea to test the journalists’ stamina and mettle. From another perspective, the whole exercise could easily be described as a bit of self-serving, self-promotion from a pair of journalists, whose inflated egos thought we might be interested.

Morality is always ugly when one side decides they have the moral right to judge others. To be honest, religion often smells like this too, but Jesus Himself had little time for morality that did not start with self-appraising humility. Most of us are great at assessing the false motives of others, while ignoring our own duplicity.

Who can say, “I have kept my heart pure; I am clean and without sin”?  Proverbs 20: 9

Dropping The Ball Too Regularly

The task of defending the Christian faith is certainly made more difficult when another church leader is accused of wrongdoing. Bishop Eddie Long was the leader of one of the most influential and powerful African American churches in the US. He has now been accused repeatedly of grooming and having sex with young men in his church. Though he denies the allegations, he has now stood down temporarily while he tries to repair his marriage. Long, an ardent critic of gay rights and the gay lifestyle, has a considerable number of serious allegations to answer.

The ‘party line’ statement to make in regard to these types of unproven allegations is that they are a smear against an honourable man. It is true that one false allegation can besmirch a reputation, but like the presidential contender and part time preacher, Herman Cain, when repeated allegations start lining up a pattern seems to emerge. The simplistic explanation is that one bad apple does not spoil the whole barrel, thus excusing one rogue preacher as an aberration. However, to be honest, there are too many high profile fallen preachers, priests and bishops to defend them as an aberration.

No, the church has to face either one of two possibilities: either there is something seriously wrong about the way many Christians and Churches live and practice their faith; or there is something seriously wrong with the whole idea of faith.

My vote, not surprisingly, is for the former - that there are widespread issues that Christians are getting wrong which are making these things happen more regularly. Any reading of the history of Christianity and the Church will reveal that the Church has always struggled with three issues: money, power and sex. In our modern era churches continue to rail against the world’s sexual agenda when it is is very different from the Bible’s perspective, but repeatedly adopt an uncritical embrace of the world’s values of money and power.

Historically churches have been careful to make sure that pastors cannot profit financially from the success of their ministry. Tragically and repeatedly in many churches today this has been overturned. Church governance systems of elders and denominational authority existed to be a check on the power of one individual. But in an era where in the name of efficiency and success many churches have granted almost royal powers to their pastors and allowed them to enjoy the financial fruit of their multimedia empires, not surprisingly the genie of sex has also escaped out of the bottle.

Five hundred years ago the church needed a major reformation when money, power and sex were symbols of ecclesiastical influence and success. Fancy clothes, pompous titles, unquestioned ecclesiastical power, questionable methods of extracting money from the poor while the church and its leaders enjoyed a lavish lifestyle, and a dubious approach to sexual morality, coupled with a huge gap between preaching and action, were some of the key concerns that led to the reformation of the sixteenth century.

In an earlier era Jesus encouraged his followers to be harder on themselves than on the world. Jesus also railed against the religious leaders of his day, who likewise loved money and were in bed with power. We need to reform the church before we can reform the world. 

“Why do you look at the speck of sawdust in your brother’s eye and pay no attention to the plank in your own eye? How can you say to your brother,  ‘Brother, let me take the speck out of your eye,’ when you yourself fail to see the plank in your own eye? You hypocrite, first take the plank out of your eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your brother’s eye.”  Luke 6: 41-42